Gray Area
by eliseypoo
Summary: Kylo Ren/Original Character AU: Estella Asuna wants nothing but a fresh start at her new high school, but when things keep happening to her - things she can't explain - she seeks answers in someone who has the same abilities. She finally learns to trust and to love before she learns there's more people like them, and that there's two sides to every story.
1. Different

This time it was going to be different for Estella. Or at least she kept telling herself that. She got ready in the morning with a new sense of self. She had an all-new wardrobe and most importantly, an all-new attitude. She skipped down the stairs, her boots leaving imprints on the carpet beneath her. "Okay mom, I am off to school!"

She grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter before giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "This time it's going to be different, mom. I just know it."

Her mom smiled, her wrinkles becoming more prominent with each passing day, and Estella knew it couldn't be from age. This was the fourth time they had moved in the last two years. And as much as Estella hated to admit it, it was entirely her own fault.

 _No freak accidents_ , she chanted to herself as she walked outside and unlocked her car door. _Just a normal day for a normal girl at a normal school._

The new school jitters didn't even exist for her anymore. She walked onto campus expecting the stares, confusion, and smiles all at once. Big cities were her favorite to move to because there were new students in and out almost every day. But with small towns like this one, everyone noticed when there was a new family in town. Especially one with a teenager.

"Hi, you must be Estella," a girl greeted with an outstretched hand. She had long, beachy blond hair that was pulled into a plait that went over her left shoulder and down past her chest. "My name is Tiffany."

"Oh, hi, it's so nice to meet you," Estella shook her hand, which she thought was oddly formal for a high school student.

"I'm Amber," the girl beside her offered, this time just giving a small wave. Estella nodded at her with a smile to say hello. "Today's your first day, right?"

"Sure is. We just got into town last week and had to wait for the transfer papers to go through before I could start." Estella smiled as she spoke. _This is already going better than the last move._

"You're going to love it here, there's always something to do and the people are all so nice. I moved a lot in the past because my dad was in the military. So I know how you feel," Tiffany offered. "But something was just too good about this place and now we've been here for three years, going on four."

"I'm glad to hear that, because I'm really hoping this is the last move we have to make for a while. Especially because there are a lot of really great colleges nearby, so I can stay close to home," Estella said. She clutched onto the strap of her backpack that was slung over her right shoulder. "Well, I better go walk around a bit and see if I can get a lay of the land."

"If you want, we could show you around," Amber offered.

Estella looked toward the gates. She liked these girls, they were kind, but she didn't want them to be around when she studied the map. Especially because her methods weren't exactly conventional. "Oh, thank you, but that's okay. I'll just have to take it in myself." Estella gave a small wave as she walked up the steps to the school.

"Estella!" Tiffany called out to her. Estella stopped on her third step and looked back at Tiffany. "You're welcome to sit with us at lunch if you want!"

Estella smiled. "Thank you, I will definitely take you up on that. See you." She finished the last two steps and walked through the gates. Students brushed past her once inside, but not without take a long second look at the new girl. She grabbed a map from the front office and sat down on a bench next to the restrooms.

The map laid open against her thighs and she looked down at it for a moment. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, putting the map in her memory. She memorized the halls and all the possible routes to different buildings. She envisioned the lunch room and how it connected out to a court yard with a stunning view of the scenery. Estella's photogenic memory also came with a vast imagination, and even though it was convenient for her, it wasn't really something that helped her blend in.

The campus was absolutely gorgeous. Tall, thick green ivy grew on the sides of the buildings and tall oak trees surrounded the fields behind the school. The school was indoors, which was a change from the last High School she attended in California. Here she got a nice, big locker and earthy tones for the paint job as opposed to stained white walls and checkered tile floors. The floors were light gray tile all throughout and the walls a deep green. Posters were everywhere:

"Vote for Kelly for Sophomore Class president!"

"Say NOPE to DOPE."

"Photography Club Room 342 Tuesdays."

There really was a lot going on, and everybody was buzzing with laughter and smiles. Everybody knew everybody and everybody was friends. And Estella wanted so badly to be a part of that.

At least three different people introduced themselves to her on her way to her first class, but none of the names really stuck until she sat down in her English class and a boy walked up to her instead of to his seat. She looked up at him – leather jacket, tousled hair, and a smirk that was cocky, but still cute. She made a mental note to ask Tiffany why she didn't mention that the men were so _attractive._

"Um, hey," he said. His eyebrows furrowing for a second.

"Oh, hi. I'm Estella," she greeted. So many people were personally introducing themselves and her mood was so elated, she was almost excited to say her name over and over again.

"Poe," he said, nodding. "Um…you're in my seat."

Estella's face broke into a blush and she instantly began to collect her notebooks. "I am _so_ sorry. I thought this was—I just assumed… I'll move."

"No, no," the teacher interjected. "No need to fuss Ms. Asuna. We have new assigned seating today, class." The class groaned and everybody stood up. "Okay, Poe you've actually moved to that seat there," he pointed to a seat toward the back of the class and to the left. "And Estella, you're actually… Well, you're right there. What are the odds, you don't even have to move."

Estella slowly sank back into the seat, feeling a bit more reserved after her brief moment of humiliation.

"Okay class, I know everybody is quite energetic this morning because we've got the Winter Sports Rally happening in two days and of course, as you've all heard, there is a new student here today. Ms. Estella Asuna has just transferred here from California. Welcome, Ms. Asuna. Now, everyone please open up their student planners and save these dates. These will be when your semester projects are due, your final exams, and of course, senior evaluations…"

The classes went by without a hitch. English was Estella's favorite subject, especially since she came from such a quiet home, she was always able to find solace in a good book. Third period came around and it was time for her Advanced Placement Chemistry class. She wasn't the biggest fan of chemistry, but for some reason, she was naturally gifted in chemical reactions and memorizing the formulas, periodic table, and easily calculating the math in her head.

Estella took her lab goggles off once she finished the lab and sat in her chair with her arms crossed. The teacher checked her work, congratulated her on a job well done, and told her she was free to work on her lab conclusion and study questions.

"Hey, Estella," a guy behind her called. Estella barely heard him, and decided to focus on the questions in front of her.

She jumped out of her chair when she felt something poke into her back. "Woah!" she exclaimed. The boy behind her was holding a ruler that was outstretched toward her.

"Oh, sorry," he chuckled. "You finished your lab? Did you do this one before at your other school?"

Estella was on edge. "Um… what?"

"Are you okay?" the boy next to him asked, his hand hovering over the beaker, ready to drop in one of the chemicals required.

"I just… don't like being touched," Estella said with a slight laugh to try and ease the tension of the situation.

"What? Are you ticklish?" the boy with the ruler asked, trying to jab it toward her again.

She backed away from the table and went into the walkway between her table and another. She nearly tripped over a student's backpack.

"Estella, I need you to stay at your lab station, please. These chemicals can cause serious burns if it comes in contact with your skin. Sit still."

"Yes, sir," she mumbles and walks back to her seat. She sits backs down and tries to focus on her assignment. A moment passes until she feels several gentle jabs in her back with the ruler. The boy is giggling with his lab partner.

"Stop," Estella whispers, trying to squirm away from the pokes. She starts to feel overwhelmed. Trapped. The pokes keep coming and she feels helpless. "I don't…I don't like to be touched," she keeps repeating but she can't be heard over the uproar of the students doing their labs.

 _No! Don't touch me. Get your hands off of me. Please. Just let me go. I won't tell anybody. Just don't…don't!_

"Don't touch me!" she screams. She turns around quickly, tears streaming down her face, and she waves her arm to intercept his next jab. There's a surge of anger that goes through her and the boy flies onto the table next to him, his back slamming onto the counter top.

Glass shatters everywhere. Tiffany screams. Then it's quiet.

Estella looks around and everyone is staring at her, their faces horrified. They stand like that for a brief moment until the boy's friend screams his name: "Jacob!"

The boy on the table, Jacob, starts to squirm but stops and screams one of the most agonizing screams of torture Estella has heard. _One o_ fthe most agonizing screams."My back! It's burning!" he screams.

"Back away," the teacher says faintly as he begins to rush over, finally registering what has happened. "BACK AWAY! Someone go get the principal and tell them to call an ambulance now!" The teacher called to Jacob's friend and told him to help carry him to chemical wash. "Jacob, you need to stand up. You need to try to walk."

Estella's eyes are wide as she stares at the bloody back of Jacob as he is helped off of the desk. Large gashes are in his blue shirt, some of his shirt is eaten away by the chemicals and she can see the skin underneath – red and raw and dripping with blood.

She slowly begins to back toward the door. She looks around the room and all eyes are now on Jacob. Some students are crying and others are breathing heavily. One kid has his phone out, recording the entire thing. He points the camera at Estella, his eyes horrified. "What…what…you _freak!"_ he shouts to her.

She picks up her black backpack and runs out of the room as fast as she can.

 _This time was supposed to be different._


	2. Adrenaline

He could feel her presence as soon as she set foot on campus. It was so powerful that it took his breath away as he was pulling his English book from his locker. He had to pause to stop himself from staggering at the impact.

He had been warned that she was coming – that were was a change in the force similar to what had happened just a year prior. But this time it was different. He could feel her _instantly_.

He looked around, waiting to see her. Waiting for the other students to notice her. But she didn't seem to be going down his corridor. The bell rang shortly after he felt her enter the campus and he head off to class.

But he could still feel her there.

He had the bathroom pass in his hand as he walked down the hall away from his third period English class. He could feel her presence getting stronger the closer he got. He wondered if he should take a peak and see if he could feel her full potential – or see her even.

But then something happened.

A strong wavelength pulsed through him – pulsed through _everything._ It was so strong he thought there might've been an earthquake. He staggered again. _Two times in one day,_ he thought to himself, shocked. How was she able to knock him over so easily, even when he had been training for so many years. And then he realized he wasn't the one being impacted. Someone had it much _much_ worse.

He heard screaming down the hall and ran toward it but stopped when he saw Jacob Miller being rushed out of a Chemistry lab in a wheelchair. The principal was running behind the nurse who was pushing him, his cell phone to his ear with 911 on the line.

To say the least, he was impressed. Not impressed that she had hurt somebody, but impressed that she had the audacity to do it with so many witnesses.

 _Poor thing,_ he thought to himself, _if only she knew what was about to happen next._

The principal came running back and stopped in the doorway, calling out for her. "Estella Asuna! Estella?"

A student informed him that she had run out just after Jacob got into the chemical wash, and the principal went running back to the office. Her name was being called over the loudspeaker seconds after.

If there was a video, it had already gone viral. Posted on the school's facebook page, sent to every contact in that person's phone.

 _There's no way she's living this down._

She was weaker after the first surge of energy had occurred. It was almost as if she was drained. He could still feel her emotional disturbance, though – she was upset, but who wouldn't be?

He continued back to class, but didn't pay much attention to what the teacher was talking about. Something about deadlines for projects. He was too focused on that piece of sadness he could feel within her – holding on to it, analyzing it, and waiting to see if any new emotions came. But then it stopped. The sadness was gone. The emotion _gone_. He couldn't feel her through the force anymore.

 _That's strange,_ he thought, _did she leave?_

Certainly she had been picked up and taken home, and probably wouldn't ever be coming back. _That_ was going to complicate things for him.

How could he get close to a girl who wasn't even around? Or that he didn't know? One that he could only feel.

* * *

"Okay, run it by me again. What happened?" the principal sat with his hands folded on the desk. His tie loosened and his eyes with dark circles.

 _Already causing more stress._

Estella took a deep breath. Her tears still silently rolling down her cheeks. "He kept poking me with a ruler so I-"

"Why was he poking you? Was he _trying_ to hurt you? Was he flirting?"

"He wasn't trying to hurt me. He thought he was being funny. But I really don't like to be touched…because…I…"

"That's okay," he interrupted. "I know."

Estella nodded and breathed a small _okay_ before continuing. "Well, I asked him not to but he thought it was because I was ticklish and I started to panic. So I-I pushed him."

"But onto a whole other table? What, did you _throw_ him up onto the table?" the principal was confused. This was the part he kept trying to figure out. "Your classmate recorded most of the incident but it starts right after Jacob is on the table. I just don't understand how you pushed him onto another table."

Estella shrugged. "I really don't know."

The principal logged onto his computer and scrolled for a moment. "Let me read you some comments from your previous schools about incidents that have happened:"

"Dangerous mood swings, anger issues, isolated from other students… I know," Estella interrupted. Every time an incident occurred, she had this same exact meeting. They question her about what happened, why it happened, and then sit and try to understand. But there's never an explanation. So then the bullying begins and then the vandalism on her home. Even her poor mother, who refuses to step on grass because "it hurts it", gets caught in the crossfire. And then that's when they move. Start fresh. Plead their case to the school she's transferring to, and then it happens all over again.

Estella's tears stopped rolling as her mind reeled.

She had spoken to countless therapists, specialists, there's nothing _wrong_ with her, especially given the past she'd endured. But yet things keep happening _to_ her.

 _It was supposed to be different,_ she kept repeating in her mind. She saw her mother's sweet face sprout another wrinkle and guilt washed over her.

"Look, maybe it was an act of adrenaline because your body when into fight or flight mode. And your only option was to fight him off. Even if he was just trying to have innocent fun," the principal concluded. But it was more to himself than to Estella. She had heard the adrenaline excuse before, too. "I know how high school works, Estella. I know it's going to be rough for you, and I want you to come to _me_ with any concerns you have about your experience here at Star High. Okay?"

That was new. Estella looked up and could see the sincerity in his eyes. The confusion was still latent on his face, but at least he looked a bit more at ease. "Yes, sir, thank you."

"Okay, dear. Lunch just started and you better go eat something. Did you bring lunch or have money to get something from the cafeteria? I think today is Mac and Cheese day. It's a big hit," he said, giving her a warm smile.

"Yes, I, um, yeah, I do." It was embarrassing to admit that she got the free lunches from the school because of her financial status. All of that moving around cost their family greatly, and after her father had passed, they were living off of the income of a modest seamstress.

She stood up as she pulled her backpack over her shoulder and began to walk out.

 _Maybe there's still a chance for things to be different._ They would be difficult, yes, but maybe they could still be different. For some reason, she could feel hope. She paused in the walkway for a moment and turned around. Mr. Lincoln had his face pushed in the palms of his hands as he sighed. "Mr. Lincoln?"

He snapped up, quickly letting out a breath. "Yes, dear?"

She bit her lip for a second. "Thank you," she muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed for her feeble attempt to thank him for the way he handled things. If only he knew how much his words meant to her compared to the other schools – the other incidents. Everyone tried to push her away and thought she was a freak. She couldn't doubt that he still thought she was a freak, but he didn't push her away. He wanted her to succeed. He wanted her to fit in. It was almost like he understood, and maybe he did.

 _A good principal should understand_ , she thought.

She walked down the corridor and stopped off at her locker to switch out her textbooks for the other two that were waiting in her locker. Calculus and Government. She stuffed them into her backpack and walked down to the entrance of the cafeteria.

There was only one way in, and if she walked in on her own, all eyes would be on her. A group of three freshmen were just about to walk in and Estella ducked her head a bit and followed loosely behind them and made her way to the right where the food was. She grabbed her tray and got a small scoop of mac and cheese, a pack of apple slices, and a bottled water.

Once she finished paying, she turned around to find a table to sit. Lunch had already been going on for ten minutes and it was packed.

 _Right, small school, so everybody has lunch at the same time._ At her school in California there were two different lunches you could have since there were so many students, so it was a bit easier to avoid some people. But here, _all_ eyes were staring. All grade levels. This time they weren't staring because she was the new girl.

She spotted Tiffany and Amber and gave them a small smile and took one tiny step in the direction of their table. They quickly looked away and pretended not to notice her. Estella knew that they wouldn't let her sit there, but she was still hoping.

There was only one table in the entire cafeteria that was empty. Right in the middle. She ducked her head and walked over to it. Although it was in the center, it was slightly secluded, like there was a small bubble around it that nobody dared to pop. She sat down at the left end and set her backpack down beside her tray.

She wasn't very hungry. She picked at her mac and cheese, but never took a bite. People slowly stopped staring at her, almost like they were waiting for something to happen again, but once she didn't do anything, they lost interest.

She tried to distract herself by staring at the mac and cheese as she stirred it, but something hit her and her breath hitched in her throat – almost like someone had taken her breath from her mid-gasp. She could feel pressure in her chest. Maybe it was the anxiety, or the humiliation from what had happened. Whatever it was, it went away the second someone sat down at her table.

She looked up, just slightly, but couldn't get a good look at him since he was on the other end of the table. He was wearing all black – black long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and black converse. His black hair was covering most of his face. He slouched back in his chair and pulled his headphones from his pocket and she watched as he put them in his ear one at a time. He didn't look at her – not to stare or even to see who he was sitting with. He put two apple slices in his mouth while he pulled out a book and propped it open – one hand resting on the table with the book, and the other stabbed at his mac and cheese.

When she saw him eating, she didn't know what it was, but she couldn't help but follow suit. She took a small bite, and then another. The principal was definitely right, the mac and cheese was a hit.

* * *

Poe walked up to where Estella sat in her fifth period calculus class with a boy standing next to him. She recognized the boy as Jacob's friend from third period. She instantly slumped in her seat, waiting for the teasing to begin. The name calling, the bullying.

She shut herself off. She knew that she had a thick skin from all of the words she'd endured in the past. It still hurt a little, but she knew that she was able to block it out for the most part. It isn't until the vandalism starts that they have to move. Emotionally, she didn't mind. She was used to being the outcast. Constantly moving, and coming from a low income family, and now all of these things that had been happening to her made her just that – an outcast.

"Hey, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Poe."

"Yeah, I remember," Estella muttered, shocked at the words that came out of his mouth.

"This is my friend, Finn. But I think you guys have already met," Poe said with a smirk and little wink.

Estella didn't know if he was being friendly or mocking her, so she gave a small smile and began to mindlessly doodle on the cover of her notebook.

"Hey, don't worry, Jacob is a drama queen. He's fine. Didn't need any stitches or anything and is already back at home," Finn said, gently tapping his fingers on the edge of her desk to gather her attention again.

"Oh, good," she said softly. She really didn't want to talk about it, whether they were being nice or not, she just wanted to get through the rest of the day and go home.

"Honestly, I think he deserved it," Poe said.

"Dude, that's our friend," Finn retorted, shocked.

Poe scoffed. "Yeah but the dude is annoying. Always flirting with girls and thinks he's untouchable. It's about time someone put him in his place."

Finn shrugged and nodded a bit, a look of defeat on his face. He took a seat to the left of Estella and Poe took the seat on her right. The two continued to talk back and forth, and kind of to Estella, even though she wasn't contributing to the conversation. They started to give her the ins and the outs of certain students.

"Tiffany and Amber are sweet, but they think they are untouchable, just like Jacob. Tiffany and Jacob used to date, but they broke up," Poe explained.

"No they didn't," Finn interjected. "I heard they started dating again last week."

"That's not what she told me at last weekend's party," Poe said, hinting that he had spent some _quality time_ with Tiffany.

Finn rolled his eyes. "You're no better than Jacob."

"Woah, I admit that I am a bit of man-whore, but at least I've got class," Poe said, shooting a small wink to Estella who looked at him with a confused expression.

"Whatever, man." Finn rolled his eyes once again.

They continued talking about who was dating who, but Estella couldn't pay attention. It sounded like unnecessary obsession to know exactly who was with who and who to hang out with and who to avoid. If she let them keep talking, she would probably be given the addresses and social security numbers of all the students.

Estella continued her doodle on her notebook, ignoring all of the stares that she got from each person that walked in.

Her breath hitched again. She dropped her pen at the impact of the tightness in her chest. She looked up to see the boy in black enter the class. He didn't stare at her like the others.

"Who's that?" Estella asked, nodding toward him at he made his way to his desk. He slouched down in his chair just like he did at the lunch table earlier.

"Oh, that's Kylo," Poe said. "He doesn't really talk to anybody anymore."

"Anymore?" Estella asked, sneaking another glance at him.

Finn looked over at him, too. "Yeah, he just…doesn't care…about anything, I think. But he didn't always used to be like that."

"He used to be normal, for the most part, like everybody else. I don't know what changed," Poe added.

 _Normal,_ Estella repeated in her head, _just like everybody else._ She scoffed a bit to herself.

"Yeah we do," Finn retorted. "It was _her_."

"Her?" Estella questioned.

Just before Poe could open his mouth to explain, the teacher walked in, nearly throwing his leather briefcase at the desk. "Okay class, settle down. Sorry I'm late. Open up your textbooks to page 282. We are going to work on some practice questions and then go over last night's homework. You have thirty minutes to do problems one through twenty, and then we'll have some volunteers go up to the board to work them out. Get to it," he said quickly. He began pulling papers out of his briefcase – it looked like a large stack of student's tests. He sat down with a red pen and instantly began going through the tests.

"Mr. Olivera is awesome, his lectures are super to the point and a lot of the time we just get to talk and work on the problems together while he grades our homework or tests," Finn explained as he opened his notebook to a fresh page.

Estella smiled as she looked down at the problems. She had already completed this unit weeks ago at her other school, so she was able to fly through the problems in a heartbeat. She mindlessly listened to Poe and Finn talk about their interests. Nothing really involved her, but every once in a while they would look at her to try and include her. Estella didn't mind though, her mind was too busy reeling.

She thought about her poor mother moving again. Having to set her online business in yet another location. It really slowed things down for her since when they were moving, she wasn't able to fulfill orders or make new product. And then it meant they had to be extra careful with money. Since they had lived in California for almost a full year before they had to move, they had a good amount of money saved up this time around. Estella was able to get new clothes and even upgrade her bedroom furniture.

 _Mom_ , she thought softly, _I'm sorry for everything._

There was a shift in the atmosphere. Like someone was feeling sorry for her, but when she looked to Poe and Finn, they were still happily chatting on, their pencils on the paper as they tried to solve the problems. If it wasn't them, then who was it? Estella reached to her left, pretending to be pulling something from her backpack, and took a moment to scan the room. Nobody was staring at her that she could see, until she looked past where Tiffany was sitting to see the boy dressed in all black – Kylo, they said his name was – staring at her. Once he noticed that he was caught staring, he quickly averted his eyes back down to the page.

Estella turned back around, her heart racing and her breathing feeling a bit labored. Why was he staring at her like that? He wasn't staring at her like some freak, but rather, as if he was intrigued, and as if he knew what she was thinking about and he felt sorry for her.

"Hey," Estella said to Poe and Finn as she turned back around. "Earlier, you were talking about some girl?"

"I talk about _a lot_ of girls, you need to be more specific," Poe joked with a smirk.

Estella laughed a bit and she noticed that the boys seemed happy that they could make her smile. "The girl, Kylo's ex or something?" she didn't want to be too pressing on the matter and make them think she had a crush on him or something. But she was also far too intrigued to just let it go.

"Oh, right," Finn sighed. "It's a long story, but there was this new girl and they got close for a while, but then something happened and they don't talk anymore."

"What happened?" Estella asked, her curiosity hadn't been this piqued for quite some time. It was usually the same routine – new school, same cliques, same boys who tried to flirt – but this school was already so much different. And she didn't know why, but she already felt like she _belonged_ there. It had been so long since she wanted to belong, and this was the only place since the incidents started happening that had her wanting, more than anything, to be a part of it.

Poe gave Finn a look, almost silently asking _should we tell her?_

Estella decided to change her question. "Who was she?"

"She graduated last year. But that's not why they split up. Some people say it was because they were competitive over who had the top grades and others say it's because of Luke…"

"Okay, class, let's see what answers you came up with," Mr. Olivera interrupted their conversation, yet again. Estella felt frustrated but then something washed over her and she decided to relax and let it go.

The entire time her fellow classmates were up at the board, she could feel eyes on the back of her head.

"Alright, Mr. Ren, let's see if someone can get one of these questions right," Mr. Olivera sounded defeated after watching three students get each question wrong.

Estella could hear the footsteps from the back of the room. His black converse padded against the tile floors and a small gust of wind went past her as he walked right beside her desk. He could have gone all the way around, but Estella felt like he walked right beside her on purpose.

She watched the way he went up to the board. His hand glided effortlessly with the whiteboard marker, his letters looked archaic and beautiful. Estella couldn't take her eyes away from him. He was mesmerizing. When he finished answering the question, he turned around to face the class, awaiting Mr. Olivera's feedback. His hair was mostly straight, but the ends had a slight wave to them. His hair was parted to the side, one half of his face covered, but not enough so that you couldn't see both of his dark eyes. And both of them were on Estella.

"Great job, Kylo, thank you," Mr. Olivera said, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

Estella watched him as he put the cap on the marker and walked away. But instead of heading straight to his desk, he stopped at Estella's desk. She looked up at him, just barely realizing how tall he was. He was towering over her. His chiseled jaw and dark eyes above her.

He held the marker out to her as Mr. Olivera cleared his throat. "Estella, are you able to solve your question, if not, it's okay, I'll just have Poe come up."

Poe gave Estella a pleading look that said _please don't make me go up there._

She grabbed the marker from Kylo's hand, careful not to touch him. He walked away after handing the marker over and Estella slowly rose from her seat. She went up to the board and quickly erased the question that Kylo had just done. She answered hers quickly, not even needing to refer back to her paper that she left on her desk.

She set the marker down on the whiteboard ledge and took the short few steps back to her desk and sat down, not even waiting for Mr. Olivera to approve her work.

"Wow…well…well done, Estella," Mr. Olivera said.

The bell rang shortly after and the class rushed out, the only two people left were Estella and Kylo as they grabbed their belongings. She saw him head for the door but she knew he hadn't left.

As soon as she turned left out the door, Kylo fell into step beside her. He still didn't say anything, but he walked next to her for a minute.

"What class do you have next?" he asked, not even turning to face her.

She looked up at him for a moment. "Study hall," she said. "In the library."

"Me, too," he replied. And they walked across campus to the library in silence.

Estella's heart raced as he walked beside her. Even if he didn't say anything, and she had a million questions she wanted to ask, she remained silent. She enjoyed the company.

 _Maybe I have a chance here, after all._

* * *

 ** _Thank you all for reading! I hope this chapter has a little more interesting since we've finally introduced the lovely Kylo Ren. :) Just saw The Last Jedi for the second time in theaters. It's not my favorite movie for many reasons, but I will still enjoy it nonetheless. It is Star Wars, after all._**


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